What are good replacements for Apple Aperture for RAW processing and photo management?

Asked 6/28/2014

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Apple has ended development of Aperture. I’m looking for replacement software for RAW processing and photo organization. I already know about Adobe Lightroom, but I’d like to understand what other realistic options exist. Ideally, the software should run on Mac and also on either Linux or Windows.

photo-management software aperture mac raw-processing

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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Lightroom is pretty much the defacto standard for photo management. It has the backing of Adobe and this gives it more chance to last than the competition. This is a double-edged swords as some people are concerned that Adobe will abuse its power and force users to buy into a subscription model with little to escape since the majority of data is stored with the Lightroom database.

Another option is Aftershot Pro which works on Windows, Mac and Linux with 64-bit versions available in RPM and DEB formats. This is the only software which is faster than Adobe's and leaves to organization component optional. It also features non-destructive editing and, while Corel is smaller, it is one of the oldest software companies around.

Originally by user1620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1620

12y ago

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A few solid Aperture alternatives were suggested:

Adobe Lightroom: widely seen as the default choice for photo management and RAW workflow. Its main strengths are maturity and broad adoption, though some users dislike being tied to Adobe’s ecosystem and catalog/database approach.
AfterShot Pro: available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, with non-destructive editing. It was noted as fast and flexible, especially if you want organization features to be more optional.
darktable: an open-source option for Mac and Linux. It is actively developed and capable for RAW editing, though some features may lag behind commercial competitors.
Photos for OS X: Apple’s replacement direction on macOS, combining ideas from Aperture and iPhoto. Based on the comments, it appears aimed more at casual users than pro photographers, with more automated organization and tighter Apple-cloud integration.

Given your requirement for Mac plus Linux/Windows, AfterShot Pro is the closest direct cross-platform fit. If Linux support matters most and open source appeals to you, darktable is also worth a look.

What are good replacements for Apple Aperture for RAW processing and photo management?

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